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Beautiful silver spacesuits

Plans for the second Storylandia collection have changed: I’m delighted to announce that Wapshott Press now want to publish the collection as a book in its own right, rather than as an issue of Storylandia. Apart from the heartening faith this shows in my work – which is hugely appreciated – this also now gives me 250,000 words to play with, rather than the 50,000 I thought I had. It briefly occurred to me to change the entire format of the book and re-write either one or both of the two short novels I’ve drafted. Both have real potential with a hefty amount of work. But it didn’t feel right to do so: I’m proud to be a short story writer, I believe in the craft and I believe in the stories that are finished and ready to be a part of the collection.

I’m currently working solely on The Spoiler, which is nearly 4000 words long now. It’s progressing in ways I didn’t expect it to, always interesting when a story does that. I used to feel out of control of these things, but these days a different path is something I can shape to an extent, although I also like my imagination to have free rein. I’ll make sense of it afterwards!

Feeling somewhat isolated from other writers, I’ve made an unsuccessful attempt to join a local writers’ group. After initially sounding friendly and welcoming, my enquiries as to which meeting would be suitable for a newcomer to attend have been met with absolute silence. It was worth a try, but the result is that I now feel twice as isolated. Perhaps this is how it’s supposed to be for me.

4 thoughts on “Beautiful silver spacesuits”

THIS IS AMAZING NEWS – I’m so happy for you! And I agree that keeping it as a collection of your short stories is the way to go.

As for the writer’s group: perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise that they aren’t getting back to you. Maybe they don’t have their organizational shit together, or it would otherwise not be a good fit for you. Don’t let that stop you from seeking like-minded folks to connect with.

Thanks – your support is greatly appreciated. I may give the writers’ group one more go, but I’m also aware that this might be happening for a reason. One thing I really should do is go to a writers’ convention; it would be quite expensive, as none of them happen near me, but worth it for the people I’d meet.

I second utherben’s comment above; congratulations on this wonderful news! How exciting. I love short stories, and I think no matter what current trends are – novels, hybrids, whatever – stories will always be a format that allows you to produce work of the finest quality – in fact, the medium requires precision, concision, and weeding out all that doesn’t contribute to the piece.

I also agree that the writer’s group you contacted probably wasn’t a good fit for one reason or another. You might think of starting your own, announcing online and/or in local cafes or bookstores. Also, while they’re no substitute for in-person meetings, online groups can still be helpful – you could do searches by geographical area, genre, subject matter, etc. And, exchanging your work with friends can be invaluable, whether locally or across the seas!

Again, your support means a lot and I never take it for granted, so many thanks for your comments. I will certainly do some trawling of the ‘net to see if I can find an online group. I recently exchanged stories with an old writing friend with positive results for both of us.